It’s that time of the year, when all tax payers begin to start worrying about filing their income tax returns. July 31 being the last date for filing the tax returns for individuals, it is but pertinent that you begin preparing for the D-Day in advance to avoid any last minute hiccups.
Here’s a low-down on how to prepare for this day and make it a breeze.
Step – 1 – Information Gathering
One of the most important tasks is to get all documents & information ready, for preparation of the tax returns. A prospective list of documents that you as a salaried individual could collate is mentioned herein below:
TDS Certificates
| Document |
Description |
Benefit to you |
| Form 16 |
TDS certificate issued by employer |
Shows income earned, deduction claimed & Tax deducted from your salary |
| Form 16A |
TDS certificate issued by any other institution for giving you income viz., FD interest, rent, commission etc. |
Shows income earned & Tax deducted from your income |
| Form 26AS |
Tax Credit Statement issued by tax authorities. Available on www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in |
Provides entire income & tax deducted by anyone across India with reference to your PAN. This is a summarized / consolidated statement that could be used from cross verification with the other TDS certificates you have. |
Bank Statement
You would need to obtain & analyse the transactions reflected in the statement/s for the relevant financial year. This would ensure that you do not miss neither any income to be declared nor any expense/deduction to be claimed.
Proof of Investments / Deductions
You may possibly note that certain investments or deductions (such as donations made) might not have been considered in the Form 16 (TDS Certificate/s) issued by your employer. In order to claim such deductions fully, you may need to collate these documents for the purpose of preparation of the tax return.
Other Documents
| Sr. No. |
Document |
Benefit to you |
| 1 |
PAN Card Copy |
The return would be prepared accurately based on the details in the PAN card
|
| 2 |
Bank Cheque Leaf |
Details regarding bank account number, IFSC code etc are relevant from the perspective of preparing correct tax return
|
| 3. |
Broker statements / Demat Holding statement / Mutual Fund statement |
In case you have sold shares / redeemed mutual funds, these documents would enable working out correct tax applicable on these transactions |
Step – 2 – Information Analysis
Once you have collated the relevant information / documentation, the next step is to analyse the documents and list down head wise income and deductions as may be applicable to you.
Based on this analysis you can assess if there is any additional tax liability. In case there is additional tax liability then it makes sense to pay this tax at the earliest.
You could take the assistance of a tax professional to estimate the right amount of tax.
Step – 3 – File your Income Tax Return (ITR)
Once you have gone through Step 1 & 2, it is fairly an easy task to file your ITR. You can file the ITR either by yourself OR submit these documents / information to your tax consultant for a hassle free filing.
It always works well to use the services of a tax specialist who would scrutinize the information / documents to ensure that you do not miss any deduction / exemption. Also, the tax consultant using their knowledge & experience ensure that no incorrect information is filed in the ITR.
Follow the steps above to have a relaxed time when all others are running about trying to meet the deadline for filing ITR, specially when the Income Tax Department portal gets overloaded with last minute filers.
Team Relaxwithtax